Fredericksburg Parent

10 Fredericksburg Parent and Family • February 2021 10 Fredericksburg Parent and Family • February 2021 Promotes Creativity Kids o en complain that spending me outside is boring or uncomfortable. Hanscom suggests encouraging your kids to get inspired by your environment. Try throwing in a few age-appropriate supplies and tools to rev up their imagina ons. "Place out diff erent adult items like trays or kitchenware by mud puddles," she says. "Bring out baskets with pulleys, string and scissors, or planks and trucks by a slow moving river. Giving them materials quickens the process of being crea ve and having ideas of what to do outside." Invite friends for a day of outdoor play rather than just for a few hours, which will give kids me to inspire each other and come up with ideas for their discoveries. For example, how many ways can they use a s ck? One child might use it to scratch le ers in the dirt while another begins building a fort. Regulates Emotions "Exercise and nature are the prescrip ons that have helped my kid," says Tammy Muzrall, whose son Nathan, 11, struggles with anxiety and social issues. "Nature is calming. It's healing. It naturally rebalances you. All you have to do is walk in it." About four years ago, she began taking Nathan to a forest school near her home. Facilitated by Kelly Daniels, a Shinrin-Yoku* Forest Therapy Guide trained through the Associa on of Nature and Forest Therapy, the school is situated on 10 acres and invites people of all ages to engage with nature through play, explora on and awareness. Our bodies are inherently designed to interact with our natural environment. Movement and outdoor play helps us regulate our emo ons. Physical ac vity strengthens the ves bular sys- tem, which is where the body manages balance and spa al orienta on. The ves bular system feeds into the limbic system, which is the body's center for emo ons. "If a child tends to be hyperac ve, or if they are moving a lot or really fi dgety, that means they need to move more. That movement will help their body to naturally regulate their emo ons," Hanscom explains. Today's kids typically spend several hours a day immersed in low-sensory, pixelated landscapes rather than outdoors playing in the mud, climbing trees, examining bugs, rolling down hills or making up games. As a consequence, kids are less focused, get frustrated more easily, and struggle with more advanced social skills like nego a on, problem-solving and confl ict resolu on. "Technology is addic ng and it's keeping kids from engaging the senses, developing the muscles and all of the fundamental things that help children develop properly," says pediatric occupa onal therapist Angela Hanscom, author of "Balanced and Barefoot: How Unrestricted Outdoor Play Makes for Strong, Confi dent and Capable Children." "We're at the point where we are seeing kids have pre y signifi cant sensory issues because it's almost like a sensory depriva on of our environment." Research fi nds that me outdoors improves our overall fi tness, helps us sleep be er, enhances crea vity and cogni ve skills, boosts our ability to fi ght disease, and even helps children with ADHD and anxiety be er regulate their moods. 5 Reasons to Get Your Kids Outside to Play WRITTEN BY CHRISTA MELNYK HINES * Shinrin-yoku is Japanese for "forest bathing," which is a slow, medita ve walk through the trees, which can decrease stress, lower blood pressure and lower our risk for cancer.

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